(I just want to start off by saying that I am SO EXCITED to be here at the Daisy Tree writing another review! Yay! I enjoyed this one a lot more than our last book! [
I don't read a lot of YA fiction, because I find that a lot of the plots are the same, the love stories are the same, etc. I get bored, friends. But when Hannah suggested These Broken Stars for our next review-swap-thing, I was intrigued.
Let's face it, the cover is gorgeous. Everybody just take a minute and appreciate the cover of this book:
Like, seriously. Kudos to the cover-design person, because I emailed Hannah right back and went, "Yes!!!!"
And I wasn't disappointed.
These Broken Stars is a sweet, beautifully written story that pulls you in gently....and then absolutely won't let you go. Like you know those awkward handshakes where the person keeps holding your hand when they're talking to you and you're like, can I have my hand back. That's what this book did, except it was more along the lines of "OW MY HEART." Not quite on a John Green level, but TBS was definitely heading in that direction.
At the beginning of the book, the first thing that struck me was the writing style. These Broken Stars was written carefully, and with love. I got the sense almost instantly that the authors weren't simply churning out words to satisfy a deadline or page limit; you could tell how much time and effort they'd put into telling not just a good story, but telling it well.
For all their trendy, Victorian tricks, there's no hiding where we are. Outside the viewports, the stars are like faded white lines, half-invisible, surreal. The Icarus, passing through dimensional hyperspace, would look just as faded, half-transparent, if someone stationary in the universe could somehow see her moving faster than light.
Unfortunately... the basic plotline is slightly cliche. Handsome boy meets beautiful girl, they get off to a bad start but are forced to work together, love blossoms. We've seen it all before. But.
But! There was a but. I was pleasantly surprised, because by the end of the book I was 100% guessing. I remember being about 3/4 of the way through and thinking to myself, "I actually have no idea in the world how they're going to end this book." Normally you can get a feel for which characters might die, or who might turn traitor, or whether or not the love interests will end up together, but I was hovering around the 250 page mark and reading blind.
It was AWESOME.
To be honest, though, my feelings about These Broken Stars aren't all positive. There were some parts where I was confused, and the way death and science and futuristic spacey stuff all work and connect kind of went over my head. (this could be because generally I'm not a sci-fi person. idk.) But at the end of the day, I connected and loved both the main characters, and that tends to cover over a lot of other issues. As long as I like the characters, I'm set.
Also, the cover.
Hannah and I decided that for this review, it might be kinda fun to answer the same questions so we could compare our responses! Here are mine:
What would you rate this book out of 5?
Ooo, I don't knowwwww. Maybe like a 3.5? or a 4? I liked it, but it didn't quite make it all the way to Narnia level. (Let's be real, no book will ever come close to my love of the Narnia books.)
What is one thing you would change about it?
Less confusion over the sci-fi bits! Haha. But again, I think this is because I'm not typically a sci-fi reader.
Are you interested continuing the series/reading more books from the author(s)?
I don't know. If I see it, I'll probably pick it up at the library just for the sake of seeing how the characters carry on, but I tend to prefer stand-alone novels so I may just leave the story where it finished up.
Who did you like better? Lilac or Tarver? (or why you loved them both equally and forever)
I think....I liked Tarver better. I did like Lilac, and I enjoyed hearing her side of the story (the novel is written in dual perspective) but overall I just sympathized with Tarver more. I kept mentally chastising Lilac for being so stubborn. ☺
Favorite quote?
"But who names a starship the Icarus? What kind of man possesses that much hubris, that he dares it to fall?"
Without spoiling, were you satisfied with the ending of the book?
Yes. *zips lips to prevent spoilers*
Do purple flowers and green dresses give you feelz now?
Um, yes. Not nearly as many feelz as lightning-shaped scars, the word "okay," or anything to do with 221B Baker Street....but yes.
Do you think this book would make a good movie?
Yes. Wow, yes. And being able to see what was going on at the confusing sci-fi parts would probably make them more sci-fi and less confusing, which is generally a good thing. But yeah, if Hannah texted me and was like, I'm in Canada and this movie just came out, let's go see it, I would definitely say yes!
I mean, mostly I'd say yes because wow, Hannah in Canada would be too much awesome, but we'd also go see the movie and that would be good too.
Have you read TBS? What did you think? Also can we fangirl together about the GORGEOUS COVER WOW
xx
Olivia
Olivia is a seventeen-year-old Canadian girl who loves writing and tea and her puppy Toby. She laughs a lot, would go on a picnic with you even if it was raining, and has an obsession with British television. She loves Austen, has never enjoyed Dickens, and writes a lot of poetry.
(also, she's pretty awkward but she hopes you'll be friends with her anyways.)
